Coersive Control

I watch a grandmother of my acquaintance attempt to take control of her granddaughter, not to the same extent as the one quoted, but deliberately undermining the parents' authority, particularly that of the father, so that the relationship has finally collapsed.
However, the mother has immediately moved on to a new partner and moved in with him, some distance away, so the grandmother will not have the same daily contact and control. I think warning lights began to flash.
Unfortunately I don't think there is much you can do to help as the sixteen year old has been made dependent on her grandmother, emotionally and financially, and the parents appear to have passively allowed it to happen. The younger child needs to be removed immediately from any contact with the grandmother, although it sounds as though she is not interested anyway, but it is very hard on her to be denied all the treats. A dreadful situation.

Lynne this scenario is sounding very familiar.
Have you posted about it before?

It's easy to say it, but the mother should have stopped this long ago, knowing, as she must have done, what her own mother was like.

Too late now I fear but support for the rest of the family is still possible.

You can only hope that the 16 year old gets wise to her (possibly Narcissitic) grandmother in time.

Killing with kindness is a true saying, although 'kindness' is different things to different people.

how is grandmother able to take away, are these holidays abroad. does not the mother have custody of her daughter's passport?
does the girl have a father in her life, what does he think.
presumably the gm is single. all sounds v unhealthy, enmeshed, like the gm is using the girl to get one over on her own daughter.
don't know how it can be unpicked. are these people related to you.
could you consult a children's charity for advice, eg Barnado's, NSPCC, local youth advice groups, there are many.
but I guess with the girl being 16 already, realistically she will soon be out of her mother's control anyway.
do you think she will go to live with the gm. tricky situation.

That's so awful. I don't know what you could do short term, but I think long term the granddaughter will realise that things aren't love and neither is favouritism. I don't know what this grandmother is trying to achieve here, but she is knowingly causing pain and upset to her own family and that's never good.